The Call ~
Many refuse the call to adventure... they flounder and begin to die inside. But the call will keep coming, until at last, they awaken and answer. Events sweep us into motion. We drift along the river of life with no real direction until we find ourselves headed into the rapids and we finally realize it's time to start paddling or die. At last we are forced to undertake The Hero's Journey.

Pages

The Call

In the words of Marianne Williamson:"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Wow! Here it is July 28th, 2005. Where does time go? We have been missing in action since the first of the year. We didn't feel like there was anything going on in our lives worth writing about. Hmmmmm? Is that really the truth? In retrospect there was alot going on. These may have actually been some of the most important months of our lives. The truth is that we were afraid to write about our searching and struggles where others could see. Maybe we didn't want to see. We have been on a journey of discovery. Where are we going? And why? "Why" has become the question of the day. It is like peeling away the skin of an onion. Just keep asking the question "why" and tell the truth.......not the truth that sounds good but the real down and dirty, get out of your head and into your heart truth. The "whys?" lead to the first response and then once examined, it is cast away and the search goes on. What is the real motive behind the action...... the real reason for the choices we make.

The other big question is "Why Are We Here"? Day by day we keep writing down the answers and getting closer and closer to the truth. We are living a life dedicated to a deepening of the spiritual journey. The choices we make ultimately serve that purpose.

Today finds us in Ballard, Washington which is really the northern area of Seattle. Our actual mailing address says Seattle, Washington. We are loving our time in the city. The last 4 weeks have been an unexpectedly delightful and rewarding experience.

Much has happened in the last few months to write about but...... maybe the timing wasn't right. We started off the year in Port Townsend, WA and then moved over to Indianola, which is on the Kitsap Peninsula. At waters edge we looked across at Seattle. For three months we lived in a small house in the woods. Our most important discovery there was that we don't want to live in the woods. It is fine for camping and long hikes but we want to live where we have distant vistas and big sky. That is what feeds our spirit.

We left there and headed east. I made a pilgrimage back to Texas to see relatives and revisit my childhood memories. The difference on this trip is that I chose to leave the rose colored glasses at home.

Today, here we are in Ballard. When we go to the water's edge on the west side of town we now find ourselves looking across at the Indianola pier. This is a quiet neighborhood of old homes and beautiful gardens. We are very thankful to be in Seattle this summer. They have been having a heatwave in Sacramento, where we spent last summer. We definately don't miss the long hot days of summer. We are house/pet sitting for Carolyn and her young son Scotland. They are in Europe for the summer. They were at the Tour de France when Lance won last week. This is a lovely old home, complete with Snitch, the golden retriever. Snitch is 2 years old and has more energy than we do. There is a lovely lake nearby, where we walk. Greenlake has a 2.8 mile path around the lake and lots of trees and shady lawn areas. We go there several days a week.

We have found another awesome spiritual community at the Seattle Unity Church with Richard Levy. We're taking a class based on Julia Cameron's book, "Vein of Gold". Given our "Golden" history, it's quite ironic. The class is requiring us to dig into our life for the "nuggets" that we all have hidden away - another big stretch for us.

Follow by Email

Follow Your Bliss

“Follow your bliss.

If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living.

When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else. People say that what we're seeking is a meaning for life.

I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”

— Joseph Campbell

This is our way

“This is our way of it Our story fires are lighted · Our community circle is strong · and full of medicine

Hear me

This is our Heart's song · That we are singing for you · This is our Journey song · It takes us all to the edge We sweat from rock medicine · Feel moving trees · Hear singing winds

Listen

A Spirit dances within you. This is our way of it. · We flow like a river · We chant until we are one. Ours is a journey story · It is what happened long ago; · It is what has been forgotten. · It is what we remember once again. We follow a tradition, the way of the hero; · The way it was always done · By people of the earth. It is a feeling of warmth · The sound of heartfelt voices

Listen

It is life · dancing inside of you.”— Michael Mervosh

The Quest

“How terrible to think of not being the hero of one's own life.

This is the role for which each of us is cast, no matter how unsuccessfully we play it. And if the part seems too big, if we picture the hero as being ‘more than life-sized’, it is because our daily life has dwindled, become less than real, and only small proportions seem natural to us...

Human existence is significant, life essentially makes sense in spite of our confusions. Man is not here on earth by accident but for a purpose, and that whatever that purpose may be, it demands from him the discovery of his own meaning, his own totality and identity.

A human being is born to set out on this quest, his quest, like a Knight of Arthur's court.”

Visitors

About Me

In 1981 we left our jobs to become gold miners in N. CA. We pursued that endeavor for the next 7 years. The simple living & surviving by our labors appealed to us. That was the beginning of our life of adventure. In 1988 we moved to town & began a new adventure. Charlotte pursued a lifelong dream of creating art & I pursued a personal dream of farming & selling at Farmer's Markets. We were organic farmers & owned an antique/collectible business in Grass Valley, CA until 1996 when the lease ran out on our farm. We reluctantly moved on. I gave up my gardening. Charlotte packed away her art studio. We decided to hit the road in 1997. We yearned to see more of the country. We passed out our flyer at the Farmer's Market & had our first 2 week ranch sitting job. We were house & ranch sitters for the next 15 years. It allowed us to see & experience this beautiful country. We moved to our present home on the Oregon Coast in 2011. Charlotte unpacked her art studio & I started growing beautiful vegetables. We look forward to sharing our journey. "I am on a journey to awaken, Today my sacred journey starts, Take my hand and you can travel with me, On this sacred journey of the heart."